DfE Strategic Priority: Addressing Skills Imbalances |
What we will do: Support DfE’s Skill Up initiative through the delivery of 14 funded postgraduate courses | What the impact will be: Increased number of students studying on economically relevant subjects leading to better jobs and economic growth. | What success looks like: Full funding allocation spent recruiting students onto approved courses and supporting their journey to course completion. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by upskilling workers with work relevant skills, building NI’s skill base so more people are equipped to take up good jobs. |
What we will do: Build on existing* and develop new strategic partnerships with employers and regional stakeholders in Northern Ireland to co-develop and promote workforce upskilling initiatives using OpenLearn and accredited undergraduate and postgraduate courses. *Manufacturing NI, ICTU, NILGA | What the impact will be: Greater awareness of, and access, to OpenLearn and accredited courses, offering flexible upskilling solutions and learning pathways that align with regional workforce needs. | What success looks like: At least three new or enhanced partnerships with positive feedback from partners on relevance and impact. Increased traffic to OpenLearn hubs developed with industry partners. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by boosting workforce capability and career mobility, as well as efficiency and innovation in key industries, and promoting regional balance by targeting regional employers and partners, or those with a sub-regional presence, enhancing local economic impact. |
What we will do: Deliver market and data led undergraduate course marketing, prioritising in-demand STEM subjects with high growth potential. | What the impact will be: Increased number of students studying on economically relevant subjects. | What success looks like: More students studying in-demand STEM subjects. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by increasing the number of students in higher education and prepared for innovative work in high-productivity sectors. |
What we will do: Address key skills gaps in health and social care across the public and independent sectors, through the recruitment of a diverse pool of new students through the Health Trusts, Unison and private care sector. | What the impact will be: Increased numbers of qualified health care providers. | What success looks like: Successfully recruit to all Department of Health commissioned nursing and social workplaces, and Unison-funded health care modules. Increased the number of new nursing and social work students from the independent healthcare sector. A student base that reflects regional diversity and the OU’s widening access goals. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To support good jobs creation by increasing the number of graduates with in-demand healthcare qualifications and boosting employment in this critical sector as demand for healthcare professionals grows. |
What we will do: Provide enhanced digital and tailored careers education, information and advice to students and graduates for up to three years after their studies are finished with a strategic focus on students from under-represented groups. | What the impact will be: Enhanced student progression and an increased proportion of students achieving their career goals. | What success looks like: Increased engagement levels of students from under-represented groups. Increased number of students reporting positive career readiness progression. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To support good jobs creation by increasing graduate employability and readiness for the workforce and equipping them with knowledge and skills in respect of career choices, and to promote regional balance by ensuring access to career guidance no matter where our students live, supporting a more regionally balanced economy. |
What we will do: Enhance partnerships with employers to increase experiential and employability opportunities for students. | What the impact will be: More graduates develop the confidence and skills needed to succeed in the workplace supporting productivity, growth and innovation. | What success looks like: Deepened existing employer relationships to create: increased number of experiential opportunities for students, and increased number of NI students and students from underrepresented groups engaging in employer opportunities. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To support good jobs creation by increasing direct pathways from education to employment, improving graduate career choices. |
What we will do: Pilot a public sector learning partnership with the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) to provide a range of free and credited online learning solutions. | What the impact will be: An upskilled public sector workforce for DfI with improved knowledge and skills focused on leadership, engineering, green technology and digital technology. | What success looks like: A DfI OpenLearn hub and DfI staff recruited onto OU modules (funded by the employer), offering clear progression pathways for DfI staff in the priority skills areas. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by fostering a highly qualified and adaptable workforce, improving public sector service delivery. |
DfE Strategic Priority: Creating a culture of lifelong learning |
What we will do: Support Alliance for Lifelong Learning (ALL) activity including actions coming from the published ALL research into the impact of adult learning in NI, and scope actions needed to develop a framework for capturing the adult learner voice. | What the impact will be: Increased visibility of the ALL and research to further embed a culture of lifelong learning in society. A framework for the adult learner voice will improve the collection of in-depth feedback from adult learners to better inform how lifelong learning can address skill shortages and social inclusion issues in NI. | What success looks like: Progress towards a co-developed framework for amplifying the adult learner voice in NI, with sign up from ALL partners and others in the FE and HE sector. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To promote regional balance by supporting access to flexible learning opportunities wherever you live in Northern Ireland, contributing good job creation as skilled workers will be available across the region to take up quality employment in key sectors for a more regionally balanced economy, and to raise productivity through research and evidence gathering that will help to address critical skills gaps constraining economic growth. |
What we will do: Continue to recruit a broad age range of students (18 to 65+). | What the impact will be: Opportunities for lifelong learning through our part-time, flexible, online learning model. | What success looks like: Over 50% of all OU students in NI aged 25 or over. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by offering learning, upskilling and reskilling opportunities for everyone, regardless of age or stage in life, extending the opportunity and choice for those seeking higher qualification for employment, including in good jobs. The OU model robustly enables the existing workforce to train, retrain and upskill while employed, improving career mobility and workforce capability to meet skill shortages in a rapidly changing global economy. |
What we will do: Promote the OU’s unique offer that supports a culture of lifelong learning through: - Flexible, online learning.
- Accessibility (no previous qualifications required); and
- Affordability (the OU is nearly half the price of brick universities).
| What the impact will be: More people aware of, or familiar with the OU, resulting in higher levels of consideration. | What success looks like: Maintain or uplift ‘Potential Student Brand Tracker’ metrics YoY for awareness, familiarity and consideration. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: Supports all four economic missions by increasing awareness of lifelong learning options with the OU, supporting individuals across the region and throughout their adult lives to achieve a higher level of qualification for better access to good jobs that tackle economic inactivity and drive productivity, offering continuous opportunity for upskilling and reskilling, including for the green economy. |
What we will do: Promote BBC/OU co-productions through social channels and external engagement (i.e. NI Science Festival). | What the impact will be: Greater awareness of key environmental and societal issues inspiring more people to engage in lifelong learning in key subject areas – nature; money, business and law; history & the arts; STEM; society, psychology and criminology. | What success looks like: Identified opportunities for local engagement and successfully delivered event and promotional activity with relevant KPIs to measure impact. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To reduce carbon emissions by increasing widespread knowledge and expertise in environmental, sustainability and green economy related topics via informal learning, increasing appetite for learning and jobs in the green economy to support the wellbeing of future generations. |
DfE Strategic Priority: Enhancing Digital Skills |
What we will do: Embed awareness and confidence in using AI in recruitment within our careers service offer. | What the impact will be: Enhanced student confidence and skills in utilising AI digital skills within recruitment. | What success looks like: Successful embedding of AI recruitment practice within services delivered, measured through student engagement and positive evaluation of confidence gain. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To support good job creation by equipping students with AI recruitment skills to enhance their employability in Northern Ireland's growing technological sectors. |
What we will do: Embed our Cisco Academy Support Centre within FE colleges, supporting FE lecturers to take more ownership of the Academy through the delivery of Cisco training sessions. | What the impact will be: Lecturing Staff at the FE Colleges availing of free CPD training and upskilling opportunities. Students are attaining Vendor Qualifications which are supporting graduate opportunities and addressing skills gaps in the IT and Digital Sector in NI. | What success looks like: Continue to develop the scope and range of the NI Cisco Academy Support Centre by holding CPD events and providing resources which can be used in the Colleges to support students and lecturers. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To support good job creation by equipping graduates with digital capabilities to enhance their employability prospects, especially in the rapidly growing technology sector. |
What we will do: Scope funding opportunities for an ‘OpenLearn ambassador’ role to work with external partners and FE colleges to raise awareness of OpenLearn as a learning resource, supporting digital skills development through online learning. | What the impact will be: More people developing digital skills by using OpenLearn’s online learning platform. More people using OpenLearn to build knowledge and skills through online courses and learning materials. | What success looks like: Funding secured and a OpenLearn Ambassador role successfully recruited to. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by supporting the Skills Strategy and improving digital capabilities in the existing and future workforce. |
DfE Strategic Priority: Widening Access and Participation |
What we will do: Further develop strategic partnership opportunities with key stakeholders - AWARE NI, The Kings Trust and Libraries NI to introduce more people from widening access demographics to the benefits of lifelong learning through the OU and our range of free and credited courses. | What the impact will be: Greater awareness of the benefits of lifelong learning and the educational pathways available through the OU and OpenLearn among widening access demographics. | What success looks like: Maintain or uplift in ‘Potential Student Brand Tracker’ metrics YoY for awareness, familiarity and consideration. Individual partnership action plans in place with shared activities and goals delivered. Regular check-in meetings to monitor progress on agreed KPIs. Meet our widening access targets for new student recruitment. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by tackling barriers to education access - namely those related to mental health, social mobility or regional imbalance – providing more choice and opportunity to individuals seeking higher levels of qualification or employment. |
What we will do: Develop new case studies featuring women who are, or have, studied STEM subjects, students with a declared disability or young men from IMD1 showcasing skills and employability messaging. | What the impact will be: Inspiring more people from widening access groups to consider studying a HE qualification. | What success looks like: Two or more new case studies created in a range of media (video, written) for multi-use purposes (news, campaigns, social). | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by expanding the talent pool for NI’s STEM workforce, also supporting good job creation as a larger, more diverse workforce drives industry growth. |
What we will do: Continue to engage with Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) as the prime provider of higher education in the prison estate, working to maintain student numbers and provide a quality study experience. | What the impact will be: Enhanced employment prospects and lower reoffending rates for students upon leaving prison. | What success looks like: Sustained numbers and continued student success, with potential increase in students studying at post graduate level. Shared knowledge and good practice via Ireland Students in Secure Environments (SiSE) Network Forum. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by equipping individuals - who may have been otherwise disengaged from education and employment - with qualifications that improve post-release employability. |
What we will do: Work with EA Transition Service to support more young people with a statement of special education needs to access higher education through the OU. | What the impact will be: More school leavers with a statement of special education need gaining higher education qualifications. | What success looks like: Young people and their parents having a follow up conversation with OU following signposting from the Transitions Service with a number of these young people registering for OU study. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by increasing the number of students in higher education and expanding NI’s workforce with greater skills and diversity. |
DfE Strategic Priority: Research and Innovation |
What we will do: Continue to play an active role in Connected by using OU academic expertise to support SME innovation in partnership with other HE institutions and FE Colleges. Increasing the visibility of OU research to relevant stakeholders across government, community organisations and business representatives. | What the impact will be: Organisations will benefit from open-source OU research and help drive innovation and growth as the global economy changes rapidly. | What success looks like: At least one successful Connected Competitive Fund bid. At least one KTP application coming from a successful Connected project. Spending our KAFA and Showcasing Fund allocations. OU research showcased to, referenced by or used by government, community or business representatives. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by sharing the OU’s research and academic expertise with businesses to support their innovation, helping to fulfil their economic potential and raise NI’s productivity. |
What we will do: Develop active research partnerships with local organisations and researchers from other institutions through the impact-focused Open Societal Challenges initiative. | What the impact will be: Research and knowledge exchange output that improves the lives of citizens in Northern Ireland. | What success looks like: Successful bids to the North-South Research Programme. An increase in applications to the OU’s grassroots led “Challenge Us!” funding competition from NI organisations. An increase in OU Open Societal Challenge research projects actively working in Northern Ireland. Successfully deliver on our role in the Peace Plus-funded Peace of Mind project. An increase in OU applications to the NI Research Professionals Network’s Organisational Insight Exchange Programme. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by driving cross-border research collaboration and innovation, helping to close the productivity gaps between NI, Britain and Ireland; and supporting innovation in business helping to fulfil their economic potential and raise NI’s productivity. To reduce carbon emissions and boost overall living standards by taking a challenge-led and open approach to research, with sustainability as one of the three key OSC research themes, as well as tackling inequalities and living well. |
What we will do: Promote the Open Business Creators Fund competition to students and alumni engaged in entrepreneurship activity to support access to early seed funding. | What the impact will be: More students and alumni from Northern Ireland entering the competition and developing the confidence, capabilities, and connections needed to succeed in their business venture. | What success looks like: At least one student successfully being awarded funding in the competition. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by supporting commercial and social enterprise business ideas in Northern Ireland, driving innovation and growth. |
DfE Strategic Priority: Tertiary Education |
What we will do: Progression pathway opportunities for FE students looking to top up their degree at the OU will be updated for 2025/26 and a one-page explainer created for each college to support awareness and marketing. | What the impact will be: Greater progression opportunities for level 5 learners to remain in NI to study at level 6, and enhanced learning opportunities for groups traditionally viewed as “hard to reach”. | What success looks like: More FE students studying a HE qualification at the OU, measured through an increase in new students applying with credit transfer. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To promote regional balance as students in rural areas will have more opportunity to access tailored learning pathways, supporting more regionally balanced skills development and helping everyone enjoy the benefits of economic growth and opportunity. |
What we will do: A youth marketing strategy will be developed for 2025/26, including the launch of a new regional youth guide and increased OU engagement with FE college students. | What the impact will be: More young people accessing HE through the OU’s flexible and accessible online learning model. | What success looks like: Strong stakeholder engagement and positive engagement metrics with the new regional youth guide. OU exhibitions at FE to HE fairs run by the colleges, capturing enquiries from prospective students. Increase in proportion of new students who are 21 or under. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by increasing the number of young people receiving higher level qualifications to help address skills gaps in high-productivity fields, and to promote regional balance by helping students access tailored learning pathways no matter where they live, supporting more regionally balanced skills development and helping everyone enjoy the benefits of economic growth and opportunity. |
What we will do: School and college outreach proposition targeting 13-16yr olds agreed and piloted with local schools. | What the impact will be: Greater awareness of the OU as a part-time HE provider among careers advisors, head teachers and parents, driving more younger students to consider OU study. | What success looks like: Messaging and proposition confirmed after consultation with target groups. Programme of engagement activity with schools agreed and successfully delivered locally with KPIs in place to track impact. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by increasing the number of young people achieving higher level qualifications to help shape NI’s future workforce, and to promote regional balance by expanding higher education opportunities accessed across the whole of NI through the OU’s online distance-learning model, countering geographic disparities in higher education access, and retaining more young students in NI. |
What we will do: Revalidate three existing programmes with colleges which have recruited successfully during the previous five years of validation. | What the impact will be: A continued pipeline of graduates with qualifications aligned to NI’s growth sectors. | What success looks like: Continuation of programmes which have recruited well. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by increasing the number of workers with higher level qualifications, building NI’s workforce capabilities in productivity-critical fields, and to promote regional balance by expanding higher education opportunities accessed across the whole of NI through the OU’s online distance-learning model, countering geographic disparities in higher education access, and retaining more young students in NI. |
What we will do: Validate up to six new programmes in 2025-2026 with FE colleges. There will be 67 OU validated programmes being delivered across the six FE Colleges in 2025-2026. | What the impact will be: College curriculums will be supported to meet local and employer skills needs. | What success looks like: Programmes successfully validated. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To raise productivity by working with regional employers and workers to address local skills gaps in key sectors and supporting economic growth in high-productivity sectors, countering geographic disparities in higher education and employment access. |
DfE Strategic Priority: Green Upskilling and Reskilling |
What we will do: As Secretariat to the All-Party Group on Skills, complete an investigation into Green Skills, aligning to the Energy Strategy and related action plan. | What the impact will be: Greater cross-sector awareness of the opportunities and challenges in improving work relevant skills for a green economy, offering a forum for academic research, industry representatives and policymakers to come together in facilitated dialogue. | What success looks like: Published report with co-designed green skills solutions and sector wide sign up that aligns to the department’s priorities and offers evidence informed insights for future policy making. Increased awareness of green OU qualifications. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To reduce carbon emissions by providing evidence-informed insights and stakeholder perspectives on green skills development, supporting the upskilling and reskilling of the workforce for the green economy. |
What we will do: Actively participate in each of the four Green Skills Delivery Group Sub-Groups at the department. | What the impact will be: OU will inform the delivery of the Green Skills Delivery Group Action Plan, offering expertise in part-time and flexible learning methods for skill delivery. | What success looks like: Part-time and flexible learning models are factored into Action Plan delivery. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To reduce carbon emissions by directly supporting the implementation of the Energy Strategy and ensuring upskilling and reskilling for the green economy accommodates for varied learning pathways to maximise workforce productivity and inclusivity, ensuring green skills development is open to all as the transition to net zero moves forward. |
What we will do: Embedding Green Skills and Sustainability into advice and guidance practice and services, to support students’ green skill development. | What the impact will be: Students receive an enhanced learning offer that supports sustainability and green skill development. | What success looks like: Sustainability integrated into advice and guidance services. Delivery of green skill employability events and opportunities. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To reduce carbon emissions by further entrenching sustainability into OU learning and careers guidance, increasing the knowledge and skills of the workforce to implement sustainable practices and to deliver decarbonisation practice. |
DfE Strategic Priority: Wider Contributions - Site Improvements to achieve Net Zero 2030 Commitments |
What we will do: Commit to building improvements and work towards the realisation of our Net Zero 2030 Plan. Over the next year, we aim to explore options for upgrading our external doors, improving internal wall insulation, and installing Solar PVs. Building improvement works will only progress when financially viable and proceed on the basis of any capital funding that may be made available. | What the impact will be: A reduction in energy wastage | What success looks like: A measurable drop in the amount of carbon emission. As tracked in the OU Net Zero Plan. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To reduce carbon emissions and directly advance DfE's Energy Strategy by: • Cutting carbon emissions through solar PV installation • Improving energy efficiency via insulation upgrades. • Setting measurable benchmarks in the OU Net Zero Plan |
DfE Strategic Priority: Wider Contributions - A voice for part-time students |
What we will do: Use our position as the prime provider of part-time higher education in Northern Ireland to champion the needs of the part-time student base. | What the impact will be: A more sustainable approach to higher education that enables increased access to part-time education for all in NI, recognising that a single period of concentrated full-time study by school leavers does not represent the entire adult learner population, and a more flexible approach is required to capture the needs of NI’s society and economy. | What success looks like: Engagement with OU students including through direct consultation and through the Open SU representative for Ireland. This engagement will inform the OU’s feedback to the department on student needs to inform future policy and funding. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: Supports all four economic missions by increasing awareness of lifelong learning options with the OU, supporting individuals across the region and throughout their adult lives to achieve a higher level of qualification for better access to good jobs that tackle economic inactivity and drive productivity, offering continuous opportunity for upskilling and reskilling, including for the green economy. |
DfE Strategic Priority: Wider Contributions - Decarbonisation |
What we will do: Submit our first mitigation report for Public Body Reporting under the Climate Change NI Act by October 2025. | What the impact will be: This will inform further progress towards our targets and enable the University to be an exemplar to other organisations. | What success looks like: Report submitted on time with baseline data established to measure progress in future reporting. | Links to the Minister’s Economic Mission: To reduce carbon emissions and deliver the OU’s Net Zero Plan. |
